How to Eat “Normal”& Never Gain Holiday Weight Again (Part 1 of 2)

Why must every holiday cause this welling up of anxiety about food?Why can’t it just not be a big deal?

I wanted to be free from the fear of gaining weight & I wanted to just be a normal person at the Thanksgiving dinner table.

...not counting calories in my head, scheming about how hard I would have to do damage control via workout tomorrow or how I could consume massive amounts of food, way beyond the point of feeling stuffed.

I wanted Thanksgiving to be about abundance… not scarcity.

Which brings me to a major part of why “normal eating” eluded me. I never clearly defined what “normal eating” even was! All I knew was that food was ruling… ruining... my life & I HATED that it affected me in that way.

Today, I bring you a simple exercise that will help you to break free from your love-hate relationship with food so you can enjoy this holiday season without the huge helping of guilt with every side.

You’ll need a pen & a blank sheet of paper.

Hold it landscape style so you have plenty of room.

Drawn a line down the middle from top to bottom.

On the left at the top write:“Things I Hate About My Eating Habits”

On the right at the top write:“My Ideal “Normal” Eating Habits”

Then draw a line across the page left to right beneath those titles.

On the left hand side write the number 1 & next to it, come up with something you hate right now about your food habits, behavior or your negative thinking around food.

My example:1. I hate the fear of gaining weight from eating foods I love.

On the right handside you are going to flip the thought to what it is you DO want. In other words, what “normal eating” means in that scenario.

Using my example above, I flipped my statement to be:----> 1. I am confident in my food choices because they make no significant difference in my body weight. (normal eating)

It is extremely important to identify what it is you want in your life.

If you are not clear, and all you do is focus on “I hate how I gain weight from eating all the foods I love” then that will continue to be true for you. You will LIVE in that struggle & in that reality. YOU MUST practice turning that around so your make “normal & easy eating” your TRUTH.

Here are my other examples:

I hate that I can’t trust myself to stop at 1 or 2 cookies or pieces.-----> 2. I trust myself to eat only the amount of food that feels good. (normal eating)

I hate that I must finish all the food on my plate.-----> 3. I easily leave food on my plate. It’s no big deal! (normal eating)

I hate that I care so much about calories.----> 4. Calories are a part of food, but I care more about quality and what my body needs. (normal eating)

I hate that I am thinking about the next meal as soon as I’m done with this one.----> 5. I feel satisfied at every meal and that fuels me to focus on other important areas of my life. (normal eating)

I’m sure you are now wondering, ok Dana… now I know what I want, but getting from here to there is not that easy.

Fear not! I’ve got your back. Part 2 is coming on Friday. That is where you will learn the framework, which is like a bridge, that will get you from your love-hate relationship with food & weight-gain to actually LIVING your new normal.

Stay tuned!

In the meantime, post your before & after’s below! If you need help flipping around the negative, I will give you a power statement and you can decide if that resonates with you or not.

Once you got your vision of “normal eating” read through it on Thanksgiving… again & again. Practice what it feels like to live with that food freedom and choice, even if it’s just for a moment! That glimmer of hope & possibility can often be exactly what you’ve been looking for to break free from old habits and ways of living that just aren’t fun anymore.

See you on Black Friday for part 2 with a special offer that you won’t want to pass up. xo